


lead me to the garden

by spnfreak67



Category: Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, I wrote this for school, Pre-Canon, Younger versions, my teacher liked it, possibly my best work yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:42:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spnfreak67/pseuds/spnfreak67
Summary: just some cute interactions between benedick and beatrice from when they were younger!!
Relationships: Beatrice/Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	lead me to the garden

**Author's Note:**

> this was initially written for a creative writing project for my english class, and i thought it would be really interesting to give beatrice and benedick's relationship a little bit more backstory. much ado about nothing hints at past grievances between them, which i intended to write about in detail but i ran out of time before the project was due (whoops). anyways so this is basically fluff, and I'm quite pleased with how this turned out.

A warm breeze drifted in through the window, lifting a corner of a page in the book that Beatrice was reading. It had been an hour since Hero went for a walk around the grounds, and Beatrice had been patiently waiting for her to get back so that they could discuss their plans for the upcoming summer solstice picnic.

Just then, Hero appeared in the doorway as if summoned by Beatrice’s thoughts. “Bea! They’re here!” she exclaimed.

Beatrice jolted up in her seat at the sound of Hero’s voice. “Are we having visitors?” she asked, confused as to who would be visiting without her prior knowledge.

Hero grabbed Beatrice’s arm and pulled her to an open window that faced the front gardens. From their vantage point, they could see three people walking towards the main gate of the house, and they could hear Hero’s father in the doorway shouting out a greeting.

Beatrice left the window and started down the stairs, leaving Hero behind without a second thought. Hero, noticing that she was alone, scrambled for the stairs, as she did not want to be left behind in the excitement that came with meeting the guests.

As the cousins reached the bottom of the stairs, Hero’s father, Leonato, motioned to the girls that they should come and greet the visitors. They approached him, and he announced, “This is my daughter, Hero, and my niece, Beatrice. They are most excited to welcome you into our villa.” Leonato turned back towards the girls and said, “This is Giuseppe Nievo, an old friend from when I was just a lad. Next to him is his lovely wife, Silvia, and his son, Benedick. Their first visit was many years ago, when you two were young children.”

Beatrice said her greetings and smiled like they were instructed to do when visitors came to see her uncle, and as she analyzed the faces standing before her, she could recall a faint memory of running in the garden with Benedick many years ago. Her uncle appeared to be getting sucked into a conversation with Signior Giuseppe, so she grabbed Hero’s hand and started for the front door.

As they snuck away, a small cough interrupted them and Leonato suggested, “If you’re going to the gardens, why don’t you take Benedick along?”

Hero answered, “Of course! Come on, Benedick, it will be fun to show you around.”

Beatrice led the way outside, and Hero and Benedick followed close behind, like ducklings would to a mother. They eventually settled in a small area that was closed in by hedges, and contained a single bench and a fountain. Benedick sat himself on the bench, while Hero and Beatrice sat down in the lush grass.

Wanting to end the silence, Beatrice spoke, “Benedick, how old are you?”

He seemed surprised that that was the first question he was asked, but answered nonetheless, “I’m 17 years this August, and how old are you two?”

Beatrice answered for both of the girls, “I’m 16 as well, and Hero—” she waved a hand towards the girl sitting next to her— “is only 14.”

Hero nodded in agreement and pulled out the book Beatrice had been reading before they came outside. She laid it in the grass and nudged it towards Beatrice before saying, “Bea, you forgot your book upstairs, so I grabbed it while you went ahead earlier. Sorry, I just now remembered to give it to you.”

Beatrice smiled at Hero, one side of her mouth lifting a bit higher than the other, “Thank you! I was wanting to read some more today,” she replied merrily.

Benedick's attention turned towards the book being picked up by Beatrice, and his eyes lit up when he recognized what she had been reading.

“Beatrice, I think I might love you already,” he said in a jovial tone. Bea’s cheeks flushed red and she laughed loudly. “We’ve been in each other’s presence for less than a half hour and you’re already professing your love? Your standards must not be very high,” she joked back.

He shook his head, “No, no, I mean, the book.” He tilted his head towards Beatrice’s hands and smiled, “It’s one of my favorites, and I was just surprised to see you reading it.”

“I’m not sure if I should take offense to that. Is it so surprising that a girl like me would enjoy reading the same novels as a boy like you?” asked Beatrice.

He let out a short laugh before rushing to correct the meaning of his previous statement. “No,” he reassured her, “I just don’t know a lot of people who share a love for reading the way I do.”

“I know what you mean. I try reading out loud to Hero sometimes, but she would much rather do needlepoint or paint, than hear me ramble on about why certain characters deserved to be redeemed.”

Beatrice and Benedick shared a soft smile, and Beatrice asked, “Do you want to sit down here and read it with me?” 

Benedick replied by moving from his position on the bench to the grass right next to Beatrice. He lifted the book out of her hands and started reading out loud to her from the top of the page. They were oblivious to Hero quietly telling them that she was going to pick fruit from a nearby grove of trees, and didn’t even notice her leaving through the small opening in the hedge fence.

Some time later, when Hero passed by the opening again, Benedick and Beatrice were still reading together, and as Hero walked back towards the house, she could hear them debating the true meanings of their favorite metaphors.

  
  



End file.
